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We also offer Physical vapor deposition (PVD materials) products and solutions, click here to access our page.

PhotonExport high purity metals, oxides, rare earths and compounds are processed, refined and purified from raw material to achieve science requirements and  technological applications highest standards and to work on vapor deposition 

Physical vapor deposition

Clean-room facilities, muffle or tube furnaces and precision characterization equipment ensure grades for semiconductor, electronic, deposition, fiber optic, and MBE (Molecular Beam Epitaxy) are met (up to 99, 9999%).

The most common processes to form thin films layers are Thermal evaporation and electron-beam evaporation.

The thermal pvd (physical vapor deposition) has the benefit of a simple implementation and to consume small quantities of materials, very valuable for precious metal deposition. The high energy of electron beam process allows evaporation of ceramic oxides.

It has become a standard in the ophthalmic industry to form the anti-reflection AR coating over glass, CR9 or other polycarbonate lenses.

(PVD) of coatings. 

Two PVD processes have also thrived in the industrial world: high-voltage triode electron beam and unbalanced magnetron sputtering.

There are many similarities and differences between these four PVD hard coating processes, but not all commonly used PVD hard coatings can be deposited well in all systems. Each of the PVD processes discussed has its pros and cons requiring different process monitoring and control techniques.

The simplest technique and configuration that provides the desired film properties and the most economical product production should be used.The properties of the deposited thin films and the properties depend on the details of the deposition process.

To have a reproducible process and product, it is important to have good process controls.

sputtering target  is a physical vapor deposition (PVD) process to form thin films. Thickness of layer formed varies from a few nano-meters up to several microns.

Sputter PVD consist of collisions of ions in vacuum and a plasma environment under strong magnetic field in order to extract atoms from the target and gradually grow a thin film over the desired substrate.

Scientific researchers generally use small discs (typical diameters ranges from 0.25 to 2, 3 or 4 inches) as sputter targets.

Nonetheless, myriad of targets shapes are possible, such as small cylinders, hollow tubes (rotatable targets) and long plates according to the industrial application and the continuous or batch deposition process. Powder metallurgy is the common process to manufacture most targets.

sputtering target: use & manufacturing process

Even though Grove and Faraday first reported the sputtering phenomenon, it was Edison who managed to file the first patent in 1884, pertaining to a sputtering process by arc deposition and thermal evaporation method from a solid surface. Today microelectronics, photovoltaic, optics, metal and tribology sectors all make use of PVD thin film deposition.